A Little Problem
by Hollywing
Summary: On his Pokemon journey, Reiji decides to uncover the mysteries surrounding Sendoff Spring. After Reiji refuses to let him come, younger Shinji follows him. Soon they find themselves literally in a world of chaos and confusion...Better than it looks!
1. Chapter 1

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!Hola! ?Que tal? Yo estoy muy mal... Is my Spanish okay? Alright, so I just wrote this fic out of nowhere to kill time(like I always do) and...ta-da! EET EEES HEEEREE :D

**So...What the summary said. Not really a shipping story, but it WILL have _eventual_ Ikarishipping. Shinji is a little OOC in the first chapter, but I promise he will be more in character next chapter...if there is a next chapter...**

**Next chap or no chap, I'm leaving it at your choice. Which means you must review... OR ELSE!!**

**I do not own Pokemon and plz enjoy **

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"No."

"Come on, bro. PLEASE??"

"You'd only get hurt."

"I won't!"

Reiji was getting ready to leave Veilstone, and along the way he would try to go into Sendoff Spring…The dark place his mother had told him so many stories about…and the evil monster living there. Now that he was a trainer, with his Pokemon by his side, he was going to find out whether it was all fairytales or not.

…But there was a…_small _problem.

"REIJI!! I REEEEAALLY WANNA COME!!" His three-year-old brother, Shinji, clung to his leg, begging his bigger brother to tag along. He'd been at this all morning. The first born wanted to leave quietly without telling him, because he knew that the infant would react this way, but apparently he had found out on his own. Maybe he shouldn't have been talking to himself that loudly…

"Shinji, sweetie," Reiji bent down and stroked the little boy's lavender hair, which calmed him down. "You know it's too dangerous for a little child like you…"

"But I'm NOT a child!!" Shinji cried out, stamping his foot and scowling simultaneously. "I'M NOT, I'M NOT, I'M NOT!!"

Reiji looked around in dismay for something that would keep him quiet, but there was nothing. The people outside the house were beginning to look confused as they heard Shinji's tantrum. Although he wasn't crying, Shinji was making a hell of a noise,and Reiji was becoming quite deaf.

"If you weren't a child, you would be mature and stop screaming, plus accept your elder's decisions." Reiji bent down and straightened out the boy's crumpled jacket. Shinji slapped his hand away, grunting.

"But pleasy pleasy please can I come with you?" Shinji's black eyes were wide and pleading. "I promise I won't get in your way! I really want to see the monster!"

Reiji frowned. This was getting annoying.

"No!" His voice remained gentle, but he had to be firm. "I don't worry about whether I'll succeed or fail; I'm just scared for the safety of my only brother!" He put both hands on Shinji's shoulders.

"Fine!" The other boy snapped, and he turned his head and bit one of Reiji's arms. As the teen flinched, Shinji looked across his shoulder and glared at him. "I'll just go myself when I get older, and I'll get stronger and then we'll see who's in danger!" Shinji stomped to his room, pouting and looking quite miserable.

Reiji couldn't help but laugh.

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"This is the entrance to Sendoff Spring," Reiji whispered to himself, looking forward into a foggy passage in the trees. "The Spring Path."

"They say to look out for Pokemon, because they're stronger than any other wild ones in the Sinnoh Region." He reached for his Luxray's Pokeball, and tossed it into the air.

"Luxray; I choose you!!" A red beam shot out of the green-striped-red ball and materialized into a dark blue canine with a four-fingered star on its tail. The Electric Pokemon let out a roar as it glared around with red eyes.

"Luxray, keep an eye through the fo-" The ten-year old broke off, seeing that Luxray's attention was elsewhere. It was staring intensely at a clump of bushes behind them.

"What's wrong, buddy? Is there a Pokemon hiding there?" He asked it, seeing its eyes burning gold.

The shrubs rustled. Reiji ignored the fear rising inside him as he took a step closer. Then he sighed as he saw a gap in the branches, revealing a bit of dark blue and black, and at the top a dark shade of lilac.

"Shinji, I saw you. C'mon out!" he called angrily, and wasn't surprised when a familiar figure poked his head out and stepped toward him. A baby Turtwig trailed behind him.

"Shinji! I told you to stay home! It's too dangerous out here!" He wondered if the stubborn boy was even listening to him; his chest was puffed out proudly, and he was smirking.

"I followed you all the way here, and you didn't suspect a thing! And I didn't get into any trouble at all! This trainer stuff is easy!"

"That's nothing to be proud of!" Reiji snapped, catching Shinji totally off guard with his fierce voice. The little boy fell back, whimpering. "And where on earth did you get a Turtwig?!" he asked in shock, recognizing the Pokemon next to him. The Grass Starter was growling at Reiji.

"I borrowed it."

"You _borrowed_ it? You mean you _stole_ it."

"No, I didn't!" The infant spat coldly. "This tall fancy lab man came to Veilstone to see Sumomo's uncle, and he saw me going outside. His name was Prof. Rowy or Rolan or some thingy. And then he started giving me this speech 'bout dangerous Pokemon in the grass like I was stupid! But then he said he knew how I much wanted to go outside, so he let me borrow his Turtwig!" Turtwig ran up and bit Shinji's purple head affectionately. "See? She likes me!"

Reiji sighed. "But at least Prof. Rowan's got the right idea! This is too much... Come on, I'm dropping you off by the Lake Valor Hotel. And I'll ask Wake to take care of you."

"No way!" Shinji crossed his arms and glared up at him. "Crasher Wake smells like sweat and fish! And last time we saw him he pinched my cheeks way too hard! Nuh-uh!"

"Then you'd better go home!"

"I'm not doing that either!" His voice trailed off. "Julia and Al hate me."

"You mean Mom and Dad."

"Mom and Dad? As if!" He bared his teeth like an animal in sudden anger. "Our real parents died! They're just phonies and the government gave us to them as little gifts. They'll never be our parents, foster or not, and they're not the boss of me!"

"But they still care for us."

Shinji looked down at the ground sullenly. "But Al hates me. He beat me for sneezing on the TV remote and he called me useless. He even…" his voice rose in panic, "he called me a freak for having purple hair and black eyes, and threw a cup at Hikari and Nozomi when they came to visit! And you're just like him! Always thinking I'm useless and too pathetic to look after myself!"

He couldn't take it anymore and began to cry.

Here Reiji's rage ended. He picked up a tearful Shinji and put him to ride on his shoulders. It was too late for them to go back- it was getting dark, and his Staraptor couldn't see in the dark. He also needed his Luxray for the quest, and couldn't risk an escort.

"W-Wait. We're going?"

"Yup. You sure cause me a lot of stress, little bro."

He sighed, and smiled up at his little brother. He looked down at the Tiny Leaf turtle by his heels. Luxra was on its feet, leading the way.

"Ready? Then let's go."

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**Sorry about Shinji being OOC. You see, I always thought three year olds were noisy crybabies. Forgive me.**

**How was it? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**It really has been a while since I updated this. Oh well. **

**This chapter might not be good or whatever, but please review! **

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"I 'm hungry!!" Shinji yelled through the trees, and glared at Reiji as though he was blaming his brother for his empty stomach.

"Maybe you'd have something to eat if you _stayed at home_." Reiji spoke in a quiet, gentle voice, but he stressed on the last few words. He truly loved his little brother, but the three-year-old hadn't shut up since Reiji agreed to let him join in on the adventure. He didn't want to deal with the endless complaining for a whole day. Or more.

Luxray was also getting tired of his moaning, and rolled its golden eyes in annoyance.

"It's okay!" Shinji said, pulling out a chocolate bar from his pocket. "The girl with a Gabite who went to the Gym yesterday gave me a KitKat. I packed it just in case." He broke the chocolate into three parts. He gave one to Turtwig, popped the other into his mouth, and reached to hand Reiji the last one.

Reiji refused it and stood up. "We should rest for the night. It's too dark to go any further." Turning to Shinji, he suggested lightly, "You can rest in my sleeping bag, little guy. I'll stay up."

Shinji was only too glad to stop and was already getting out the sleeping bags with Turtwig. True, he wanted to continue the adventure, but he was already getting tired from all the walking and climbing up the hill.

"Luxray, return." As the blue canine went back into the Pokeball, Reiji felt like he was being watched. He whirled around, and thought he saw two eyes watching him from the fog. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and the eerie gaze had vanished.

"Huh. That's weird." The boy shrugged and put the Pokeball back on his belt. He looked back once to see if it had appeared again, but it was totally gone.

Shinji seemed to be waiting for him. The Grass Starter was curled up next to him, but the infant was wide awake.

"Reiji, I can't sleep." Shinji spoke softly. "This fog kinda gives me the creeps..."

. "It's alright," he said, stroking Shinji's hair like he always did. As his little brother lay his head down, he sang:

"_Rock a bye slumber comes soft from the west…Mother is calling her babes to the nest…As they sail home on tired wing, everyone in their soft voices sing…_

_Rock a bye, Rock a bye, Rock a bye Rockabyeshoo! Rock a bye, Rock a bye shoo!"_

He used to sing that same lullaby for him every night, and it still had the same desired affect. Shinji's eyelids slowly drooped, and in five minutes he was sound asleep.

"Goodnight, sweetie," he whispered, smiling. He looked so cute when he was asleep. When he lay on one side, he usually cupped his nose and mouth in his hand and so it wouldn't be seen.

As he was about to close his eyes to fall asleep in his bag, he was acutely aware of someone watching him. He was really sure now that this wasn't a hallucination. But as he lifted his head to see, there was nothing to stare at but the trees and shrubs. With a worried glance at his brother sleeping next to him, he turned over and tried to calm the shivers running down his spine.

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Sometime in the middle of the night, Shinji woke. He rubbed his eyes drowsily and looked around. By the darkness, it was probably a little earlier than midnight. He could never sleep for long; he'd always used to get Reiji and his parents' temper flaring when, as a baby, he'd wake up early in the morning and wail his tiny lungs out for food. He was only a newborn at the time, but he still remembered little slices of the memory. He chuckled once it came to mind.

He had giggled a bit too loudly. The Turtwig next to him growled as its topaz eyes snapped open, and it glanced curiously at its temporary trainer, who was staring at his Pokemon. As Shinji raised a finger and placed it to his mouth thoughtfully, the Grass Starter wondered what was possibly going through his mind.

The purple-haired boy patted the oak sapling on its head, suddenly struck by an idea. "Hey, Turtwig. You wanna go on an adventure?"

It let out a gleeful bark in agreement, and rubbed its cheek against the leg of Shinji's pants. The infant quietly slid out of his sleeping bag, Turtwig following closely behind, and he stole a look at Reiji. His brother had his back turned away, out cold, and was completely oblivious to the small boy tip-toeing past him. Shinji had to be careful not to wake up his older sibling…if he did…well, it would mean certain doom.

Shinji was almost at the edge of the campsite, and so was Turtwig. One more step…

Reiji let out a loud grunt.

Shinji froze.

He turned around slowly; ready to flee once his brother raised his head.

The pony-tailed teenager just sighed, and returned to his soft snoring. The infant sighed in relief as he moved stealthily away form the clearing, into the shadows of the trees. Shinji began to walk normally now; he was away form his goody-two shoes brother now, so there were no worries in being caught.

Suddenly the hoot of a Noctowl rang split the silence. Shinji cowered, covering his head with his hands and squealing in fear. Only when he heard the rustling of wings and the cry fading away, he uncurled himself and calmed down. Turtwig cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm fine," Shinji grunted, looking slightly embarrassed. He felt slightly intimidated by the darkness and the eerie silence…not to mention, the constant feeling of someone watching him. He couldn't suppress a shiver as the leaves cracked under his shoes; if there really was danger, the noise didn't help at all.

As boy and Pokemon trotted on, the air grew colder and thicker, floodingand Shinji forund it hard to breathe and even harder to see. He suspected that they should be approaching Sendoff Spring now, but he couldn't be sure; the mist hid even the dark blue of the lake's surface.

"Great Arceus, I can barely see my hand!" Shinji gasped aloud, waving his arm in front of him, but he only saw a silhouette of the limb. He felt something touch his leg, and Shinji jumped, startled. Turtwig let out a pitiful moan, reaching his muzzle to touch Shinji for comfort.

"Oh. It was you." Shinji didn't like showing softness to anyone, but he was also friightened, needing Turtwig beside him. The infant picked up the Tiny Leaf Pokemon and hugged it close, seeing his own fear reflected in Turtwig's eyes. He suddenly found himself wishing Reiji was here.

_I can explore on my own!_ He told himself, but he began to have a few doubts when he heard a loud screech coming from a distance away. He felt Turtwig shudder, and felt bile begin to rise in his throat. Maybe he shouldn't have left.

For a moment, he heard the rustling of grass. It didn't sound like the light wind; it was as if something was moving through it, something huge, about five times bigger than the three year old. He found himself holding the Starter tighter, shaking as he called out, "H-H-Hel-llo?"

In a split second, a large shadow towered over them, its eyes glowing deep red, and even the thick fog couldn't mask the anger coursing through them. Turtwig jumped out of Shinji's arms and snarled a challenge, as Shinji stared up at the figure, terrified.

His eyes were snapped open, his pupils contracted to black slits. Without hesitation he began to shout in desperation,

"**Nyahh! Reiji!! Help me!!" **

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Okay, The lullaby Reiji sang was something my friend sang for a contest. The old Rock a bye baby got kinda old now, so I used the other one instead.

Suggestions are welcome! xD

Please Review!!


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